Preventing Childhood Drowning -- A Public Health Issue For All

Summer time is fast approaching, which means many school age children will be out and about. And while it can be fun for children to explore the outdoors, it can also be a dangerous situation, especially if a child is near water.

According to the American Red Cross , childhood drowning is a frequent cause of death. In fact, this 2012 American Red Cross piece quotes the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as reporting that “137 children in this country drowned in a swimming pool or spa between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, and an additional 168 children required emergency treatment for near-drowning incidents.”

During this summer season, some children will also attend summer camps. And these camps may offer swimming as an activity. As a parent, you may assume that if a summer camp offers swimming that they have the adequately trained staff to watch your child. Yet, this may not be the situation. Private pool clubs do not have to offer the same pro-active water safety strategies as public pool facilities. For example, a suggested lifeguard to swimmer ratio doesn’t mean a private, for-profit organization needs to compl

Grant Fieldon Brown’s story: August 31-2006- July 23, 2013

In 2013, six- year-old Grant Fieldon Brown drowned at the exclusive and private Governor’s Club located in North Carolina. According to this Indy Week article, Grant was enrolled their summer day camp and despite his mother telling camp staff her son couldn’t swim the lone lifeguard on duty was never told this critical information. On July 22, 2103, Grant was found by other swimmers in the deep end of the pool, and died later the next evening. At the time of Grant’s drowning, the Indy Week article states there were 32 campers at the pool, along with family members. Surveillance video, “could only estimate the number of bathers at somewhere between 30 and 60.”

This same Indy Week article reports that both the American Red Cross and The American Lifeguard Association recommend two lifeguards be on duty at any location.

The writer of this post was unable to find where Grant Fieldon Brown’s death was recorded in the 2013 North Carolina vital statistics as a child death in Chatham County. Therefore, it is difficult to determine how often childhood drowning is a cause of death in Chatham County. If such information becomes available, an editorial note will be added.

Further, the World Health Organization recommends (in this May 2017 report ) that when a childhood drowning death occurs a social autopsy be performed. This “involves individuals closely involved with the drowning being interviewed about the social, environmental, health and behavior conditions surrounding the event, any drowning prevention procedures followed, the type and timing of the intervention, and any barriers encountered during the intervention.”

In general, the Center For Disease Control states unintentional drowning killed 1,027 U.S. children in 2010 and it is preventable.

Prevention Includes:

Draining unnecessary accumulations of water (e.g. baths, ponds, buckets). Building safe bridges and install piped water systems to reduce exposure to open bodies of water. Building and maintaining 4-sided fencing around swimming pools. Covering wells and rainwater collection sites (e.g. cisterns, barrels) with heavy grills. (Source: World Health Organization )

Training bystanders in adequate safe rescue and resuscitation (Source: WHO, 2014).

Wearing a personal flotation device (e.g. life jacket) when on a boat. (Source: WHO )

The ongoing and systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation of child health data for planning, implementing, and evaluating injury prevention efforts. Implement data systems, such as Child Death Review, to collect more detailed information on the circumstances of drowning to better design intervention programs. Analyze local, state and national level data and information to monitor the effect of drowning prevention efforts. (Source: CDC )

The American Red Cross suggests the following Water Safety guidelines:

Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards. And always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone. Even at a public pool or a lifeguarded beach, use the buddy system.

Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll you and your family members in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and Learn-to-Swim courses.

Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.

Make sure that your young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone. Even if you do not plan on swimming, be cautious around natural bodies of water including ocean shoreline, rivers and lakes. Keep in mind that cold temperatures, currents and underwater hazards can make a falling into water dangerous. And if you do go on a boat, be certain to wear a life jacket because most boating fatalities occur from drowning. It is important to avoid alcohol use because alcohol impairs judgment, balance and coordination. This in turn affects swimming and diving skills. Remember, this is a time to establish family rules and enforce them. More information from the Red Cross is available here .

Child injuries are preventable and this includes unintentional drowning. In this document , the CDC recommends “using child injury news stories to relay drowning prevention messages” as a way to promote injury prevention. This writer is interested in all child related drownings which happened in North Carolina and Michigan. Please contact Kristin Meekhof via email at kristin@kristinmeekhof.com if you have a story that fits this category.

Kristin Meekhof , LMSW, is a speaker, writer and co- author of “A Widow’s Guide to Healing” with cover blurbs from Maria Shriver and Dr. Deepak Chopra.